Kershaw Shows He’s Still a Star
By Matt Veasey
0. 6. 5. 71. Final
That the Dodgers’ ace lefty Clayton Kershaw was not selected outright to the National League All-Star team was ridiculous. Last night, the winner of 3 of the last 4 NL Cy Young Awards (he was 2nd the other season) demonstrated clearly that he is still the best with a 5-0 complete game shutout of the Phillies at Dodger Stadium.
Kershaw scattered 8 hits, walked no one, and struck out 13 Phils’ batters. 92 of his 123 pitches went for strikes. His record is now 6-6, but he has a 2.85 ERA, a 1.024 WHIP, and has allowed just 99 hits in 123 innings pitched across 18 starts with a 160/27 K:BB ratio. Those 160 strikeouts lead all of baseball.
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In an almost unfair matchup, rookie Adam Morgan was sent out on the Phillies side to make just his 3rd career start. He was not up for the task on this night, allowing 5 earned runs on 6 hits across just 4 innings pitched in dropping to 1-2.
The Dodgers scored all their runs off the rookie early, scored them on a pair of longballs, and scored them with ex-Phil Jimmy Rollins right in the middle.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Rollins led off with a double, and was followed immediately by catcher A.J. Ellis, who shot a 2-run homer to left center to put LA on top by 2-0. In the bottom of the 3rd, with two outs and two on, Rollins drove his 8th homer of the season. The 3-run shot made up what would be the final score of 5-0.
Meanwhile, it was the Clayton Kershaw show. The Phils put the first two batters on with singles in the 7th, but Kershaw struck out two of the next three hitters swinging to escape without damage. Carlos Ruiz led off the 9th with a double, but Kershaw got both Domonic Brown and Andres Blanco looking at called third strikes to put an end to the affair.
Kershaw still has a couple of shots to make the NL All-Star squad. He could be voted in by fans, as he is part of the MLB Final Vote, one of five players being voted on by fans. If he doesn’t win there, he could be named as an injury replacement. Whether he makes it or not, he showed last night that he will certainly be making a run at a 4th career Cy Young Award.